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It’s been a long time since burgers were just a backyard barbeque staple or a fast food go-to. At this point, an elevated burger has become a true art form. From the locally sourced, grass-fed meat and the aged cheddar, to the rare truffle topping and fresh-baked bun, the haute burger trend has really taken the food scene by storm. And what’s more, these luxe burgers haven’t just taken hold in the U.S. Au contraire, restaurateurs around the world have picked up the burger torch and infused the trend with their own creativity and culture. All this to say, these high-end burgers are the global stand-outs worth traveling for.

Courtesy Butcher's Club

The Butcher’s Club Burger, Hong Kong

The Butcher’s Club was launched in 2013 by a group of Hong Kong chefs and butchers as a space for cooking classes, dining, and butchery. There are now seven locations throughout the city, all dedicated to high-quality dry-aged beef, with the Wan Chai outpost focusing on beer, bourbon, and burgers. There is only one option on the menu: a bacon cheeseburger made from Australian Black Angus beef. But diners in the know can order off of the rotating (not-so) secret menu (you can view it online), that often includes selections like the Sriracha-fried Wu Tang Style or pulled pork-smothered Hogtown burgers.

Maison Boulud, Montreal, Canada

The contenders for Montreal’s best burger make it difficult to pick a favorite, but the Boulud Burger comes out on top time and time again. You can tell by each meticulously sourced ingredient that this burger is going to be something special, from the homemade pepper brioche bun to the pork belly confit topping the burger. The toppings on this perfectly seasoned patty are simple but deliberate: in addition to pork belly, you can add aged cheddar, arugula, and tomato. Maison Boulud and its chef Daniel Boulud are also American Express Global Dining Collective partners.

Emilie Baltz/Minetta Tavern

Minetta Tavern, New York City, New York

The Michelin star-rated Minetta Tavern has been a Greenwich Village fixture since 1937, playing host to literary luminaries like Ernest Hemingway and Eugene O’Neill ever since. Restaurateur Keith McNally revamped the space in 2009, keeping the spirit of the original alive by restoring details like the tin ceiling, New York street scene wall murals, and the wooden bar. The $30 Black Label burger, however, is a thoroughly modern affair, made from a blend of dry-aged beef cuts from Pat LaFrieda Meat Purveyors drizzled with clarified butter and served with caramelized onions and a brioche bun.

Courtesy Fergburger

Fergburger, Queenstown, New Zealand

This New Zealand eatery opened way back in February 2001 in a tucked-away alley called Cow Lane, but its popularity among Kiwis propelled a move to a bigger space on Queenstown’s busiest thoroughfare four years later. It expanded again in 2011 with an adjacent bakery (Fergbaker), which turns out handmade buns. Fergburger adopts an evocative naming strategy. Little Lamby, for instance, is a prime New Zealand lamb burger with a tomato relish and mint jelly. The falafel-based vegetarian burger received a more controversial moniker: Bun Laden. Hungry visitors gravitate to the Big Al and its two beef patties, bacon, cheese, two fried eggs, and aioli. Tomato, relish, lettuce, and beetroot are there, too, but you might not even notice.

Wyatt Conlon/Courtesy OTOTO

OTOTO, Los Angeles, California

Newly opened in Los Angeles, OTOTO is chef Charles Namba’s homage to his favorite burger in Japan, the Mos Burger. OTOTO is touted as a sake bar, and attached to high-end sushi haunt Tsubaki, but the burger is worth going to Echo Park for in its own right. If ever there were to be an incredible Japanese take on a classic American burger, it would, after all, be in LA. The burger itself starts with a pork and beef patty with housemade yuzu thousand island. Instead of over-topping with endless accoutrements, the patty shines underneath a simple Japanese chili BBQ sauce mixture, and is topped with lettuce and tomato on a potato bun.

Cody Rasmussen/Courtesy Hall

HALL, New York City, New York

HALL’s burger uses a beef you’re unlikely to find often in the U.S. It’s made with washugyu beef, which is the marriage of American Black Angus and Japanese Wagyu. Served on Japanese white bread, HALL’s signature burger is another that forgoes a host of toppings in favor of letting the patty claim the spotlight. It’s simply finished with a slice of American cheese, diced purple onion, and a sansho pepper sauce.

Courtesy Zero Restaurant + Bar

Zero Restaurant + Bar, Charleston, South Carolina

The royale with cheese at Zero Restaurant + Bar has made a name for itself as a must-try burger when in Charleston. So while browsing the idyllic houses and sipping sweet tea, make sure to stop in for the burger that was originally inspired by chef Vinson Petrillo’s affinity for Five Guys’ burgers. This Wagyu beef burger is topped with mushrooms, onions, and Kraft Singles fondue—which is every bit risqué as it sounds. Finishing the burger are truffle shavings to take the umami flavor up several more notches. The one major downside to this burger is it sells out without fail every night—so be sure to make an early reservation.

Romain Buisson/Courtesy Blend

Blend, Paris, France

Blend’s five Paris locations pay careful attention to all aspects of their burgers, from buns baked in-house to renowned butcher Yves-Marie le Bourdonnec’s carefully chosen cuts of French or Irish beef, ground daily into patties. Though the vibe borrows from a fast food aesthetic, with burgers served in paper cartons and a lunch special available from noon to 6 p.m., the craft is most certainly gourmet, with selections like the onion and balsamic vinegar compote-covered Signature burger or a super spicy Brave burger with hot sauce-laced Cheddar, in addition to a classic topped with the more iconic add-ons, including cheese, iceberg lettuce, pickles, onions, ketchup, and their secret sauce.

Courtesy Au Cheval

Au Cheval, Chicago, Illinois

There are three sandwich options at Au Cheval: a single cheeseburger, a double cheeseburger, and a fried bologna sandwich. Suffice it to say, they’re not kidding around. The no-reservations restaurant in the West Loop of Chicago commands quite the crowd for their burger—a three-hour wait time is fairly typical. The ingredients are more classic than luxe—Kraft American cheese and prime beef. It’s the coveted factor that drives the intrigue of this burger. Fortunately, their reign has expanded with an Au Cheval recently opening in New York City (as of March 2019) so even more burger aficionados can experience the hype firsthand.

Courtesy Hamburg

Hamburg, Rotterdam, Netherlands

This butcher-shop-themed eatery in Rotterdam’s trendy Witte de Withstraat sources its 100-percent Black Angus beef from Ana Paula Ranch in Uruguay. The rest of the ingredients are local (buns from a nearby bakery, produce from a Rotterdam supplier), and the small, seven-burger menu—from beef to shrimp to pumpkin—orbits around secret-recipe sauces and a range of toppings for easy customization. De Hamburg (weighing in at more than half a pound) comes with, among other things, two kinds of cheese (Cheddar and gruyère), pancetta, and a secret sauce.

Courtesy Royale Eatery

Royale Eatery, Cape Town, South Africa

What started as a humble 10-table operation is now a three-floor empire that serves 50 different kinds of burgers at its original Long Street address. “I think the fact that a hamburger can be so versatile means there has to be a variety to suit personal taste,” Sascha Berolsky, co-owner of the Royale Eatery explains. The encyclopedic menu will impress just about anyone, including vegetarians, who have 11 options to choose from. But we like The Wagyu, a Wagyu-Angus cross served with Citizen beer–soaked pickled onions on a pretzel roll. If that’s not decadent enough, Sascha recommends topping it with Swiss cheese and extra bacon.

Courtesy Tasty n Alder

Tasty n Alder, Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon, the epicenter of the Pacific Northwest’s gourmand scene, is known for its array of excellent restaurants dedicated to using fresh, local ingredients. Tasty n Alder, chef John Gorham’s third venture, is no exception, and even includes a mention of the ranch in which each cut on their impressive steakhouse menu first originated. The Alder Burger, which comes with melted Oregon Chubut cheese, housemade bacon, beef from Cascade Ranch, and the unusual-but-enticing addition of a hazelnut romesco, is just one of the many highlights on the menu, available as both a dinner and brunch option every day of the week.